From Rust to Lust, can I bring it back? #11: These bearings cost HOW MUCH?!

If they have the rubber seals on them, you can carefully remove the seals … thoroughly clean the bearings, inside & out … repack with fresh grease … go ahead and run them … you MIGHT not even need new ones after this procedure … it’s worth a try … I’ve done it LOTS of times when I was in your predicament.

NOTE : DO NOT be tempted to use compressed air to spin the cleaned bearings dry … it will ruin them in a few seconds.

-- - dabbling in sarcasm is foolish … if you’re not proficient at it, you end up looking stupid … ... ...

Glenn, How’s that Bandsaw coming along, does it run smooth? Was the Manual included?

-- ~ Bob ~ Newton, N.H.

I saw your restored jointer. Great job. It will last you forever, or until you find an old 12”er you get the itch to restore. If you haven’t already, and if you continue this sliding down a slippery slope madness, I must insist you visit

http://vintagemachinery.org/

Registration is free and easy, like me, and you will be among friends and like kind. Even if you don’t register you can click the Discussion Forums tab on the selection bar and find your way to Old Woodworking Machines. If you get sidetracked for hours in other forum, we understand. In the OWM forum the forth post down is fixed to the top by the administrator as a service to it’s members It is titled Ordering Bearings From Accurate Bearing – Please Read by Jamie Norwood. This post is a treasure and should be read and understood by anyone restoring old machines that require bearing replacements…and they all do. I guess you could call Accurate Bearings the official bearing replacement company of OWWM.

I would post some information from the post but out of respect, you should go read it yourself. Let us know what you think.

Edit, oops I forgot I had mentioned OWWM in a previous blog of yours I was just persuing a few moments ago. Sorry for the repeat, but the Accurate Bearing post by Jamie is a must read.

-- david roberts, spinning Tales from Topographic Oceans, no, really.

Thank you Fuzzy I will definitely try that, it sounds like a no brainer to give it a whirl.

Bob817 The bandsaw looks and works amazing! And yes the manual, three blades, the fence, and base all came with it. Although the motor pulley is out of alignment with the saw pulley by about 3/16” but I can adjust that. It’s done a real number on the belt, I’ll need a new one. (check out my next project post, lol, more of a joke than anything, but I’m proud of it)

DavidRoberts I am actually already a member of VM and OWWM. But…I only did it to find specific things about my jointer off the bat and never fully explored the sites. I will check out the bearing site for sure. Thank you so very much for all the help and compliments along the way

-- Grant - S/N Dakota

just as a side note, bearing are one of those products that are counterfeited, make sure you buy from a reputable dealer. Just because it has a reputable brand name on it does not mean it’s the real deal.

-- I still have all my fingers

Some of those bearings are made with an offset in the inner or outer race, and can be replaced by a bearing
that is straight and using machine bushings to achieve the offset. We have two places that specialize in
bearings here, Applied Industrial and Motion Industries, they have all the books and measurements, so I was
able to save quite a few dollars and a weeks waiting by using standard bearings, do not know if this will work
for you, but it is worth checking out.

-- As ever, Gus-the 74 yr young apprentice carpenter

Grant, are you talking about the bearings from the rockwell jointer? I think i paid around $40 for the cutter head bearings, i might still have the email from the manufacturer i got them from if youre interested. I had to use a bearing puller to get them out and had my father in law mill me a piece of round stock to punch them back in with. It went really easy for my first ever bearing replacement.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

Grant, i found the email … here it is:

Hi Chris,
We do have these items in stock.
87502 $7.17/ea.
87503 $7.45/ea.
Please let us know if we can be of any help to you.

THANKS,
DANIELLE
BEARING BROKERS INC.
PH. 800-248-9113
FAX 800-785-7283
danielle@bearingbrokersinc.com

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

Wow Chrisstef, That’s awesome, I’m definitely going to emal him. Those bearing numbers are one number off but maybe they’re the same. I did have to but a bearing/pulley puller to get them off, I figured I’d dig around in my sockets until I find the perfect deep well to get them back on.

Thanks again!

-- Grant - S/N Dakota

Im glad i could help, $48 is way too much for bearings in my book. I still may have the inside and outside dimensions of the pipe i had milled, ill take a look when i get home tonight. I just put a little bit of white lithium grease on em and punched them down, easy as pie, and runs nice n smooth.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

Awesome series. Starting on the same adventure myself: day two of grinding away rust.

Congrats! (And thanks for sharing your experience, it’s a big help!)

Those old Delta bearings were made so that the race extended out one side beyond the race. They can be
replaced with regular sealed ball bearing with the same ID-OD and bearing race width. To space the bearings
properly on the shaft, pay close attention when taking them off and measure carefully, you can use machine
bushings on the side of the bearing that the race extends out. The regular bearings cost considerably less and
work just as good. In some cases the offset does not serve any real purpose that I could discover and can be
ignored.

-- As ever, Gus-the 74 yr young apprentice carpenter